The Prayers of St Francis
by mmouse15
Summary: Jazz has been badly injured. Spike wants to know why Prowl's hovering. This is a series of stories about Prowl and Jazz's relationship, told to Spike by various mechs.
1. Prayer 1

Prayer of St. Francis

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,  
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;  
where there is injury, pardon;  
where there is doubt, faith;  
where there is despair, hope;  
where there is darkness, light;  
where there is sadness, joy;

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;  
to be understood as to understand;  
to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive;  
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;  
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Title: St. Francis Prayer 1: Where there is hatred, let me sow love

By: mmouse15

Rating: K+

Warnings: implied intimacy, slash

For the LJ community prowlxjazz, we had a Christmas challenge using the prayer of St. Francis, where you wrote a drabble/ficlet/story for each line of the prayer. These were all done December 2008.

**

* * *

**Spike hovered in the entryway, trying to stay against the wall where he wouldn't get flattened by giant robots not paying attention to the human in their medbay.

"Sunstreaker, good, put him over there. He's stable and can wait. Swoop!" Wheeljack was in fine form, triage going quickly. Swoop was working on mechs with minor injuries, patching armour and repairing fried wires. First Aid was working on more severe cases, patching leaking energon and coolant lines. Ratchet was quietly working on the worst cases with Perceptor aiding him, running for supplies and equipment as needed. Ratchet was checking in on 'Jack frequently, who was mostly doing triage and working on bad but easily fixed cases. The battle had been long and drawn-out, and for the first time since they had come out of stasis on Earth the medical team had to patch mechs up and send them back out to the battlefield. Spike was here to find out how Bumblebee was doing, the little yellow 'bot having taken a bad hit from one of the Seekers and leaking profusely from one leg. Spike was worried because First Aid and not Swoop was working on his friend.

Optimus Prime stuck his head in the door of the medbay. "Ratchet."

"Prime," was the response. Ratchet didn't even look up from his work.

"Megatron finally called a retreat." Prime told him. A visible wave of relief spread through the room. Spike breathed his own sigh of relief.

"Took him long enough," was Ratchet's opinion, "perhaps now we can catch up with ourselves."

Prime withdrew and soon thereafter, Bluestreak arrived with a stack of energon cubes for the medics and their assistants. Ratchet slammed his down, and Spike was impressed at the speed of the medic's consumption. The engineer moved over to help First Aid, who was working on Bumblebee. A quiet exchange later, Bumblebee was moved to a berth with an energon feed. Spike was worried – one of Bumblebee's legs was graying from lack of energon.

The medbay rapidly cleared now that there were no new mechs adding to the queue, and soon Spike felt that he could move over to the berth where his friend lay. Perceptor saw him and came over to him.

"Would you like me to lift you, Spike?"

"Yeah Percy, that would be nice." Perceptor gently scooped him up and placed him near Bumblebee's shoulder.

"Hey, buddy." Spike greeted his friend.

"Hi, Spike."

"How long you in for?"

Bumblebee choked out a laugh. "I've got an energon line that won't seal, so I'm stuck here until Ratchet or Wheeljack can take a look."  
"Tough luck there, buddy."

"Yeah. At least I'm awake, unlike Jazz." Bee turned his head at looked over at the table where Ratchet was working. Spike hadn't realized that the mech on the table was the happy go-lucky saboteur, but he was shocked to see Jazz's chest open and a machine with leads going to the spark chamber.

"What happened?" Spike's tone indicated his shock.

"He took a hit from Megatron. It was too close to his spark, and he went into spark failure. The machine is regulating the energy of his spark while Ratchet repairs the damage." Bumblebee informed him.

"Wow. I've never seen that before."

"It's not a common injury, Spike."

"No, I guess not."

Prowl entered the medbay, passing through the rows of mechs, stopping at each table or berth to exchange a few words with each mech. When he got to Bumblebee, he touched Bee's other shoulder, looking quickly down his body to the opened armour and the clamps.

"How are you, Bumblebee?"

"I'm really doing well, Prowl. I expect a quick recovery once the leak is repaired."

"Good. And you, Spike, are you well?"

"Sure, Prowl, I'm fine. Just worried about Bee, you know."

"Yes, I understand," and Prowl looked over at Jazz. Spike shifted uncomfortably, surprised by the emotion he glimpsed in Prowl's optics. When the tactician returned his gaze to Bumblebee, however, he appeared as impartial as ever. Spike asked, "Prowl? Are you alright?"

"I am fine, thank you."

"You just seem…I don't know, upset I guess."

Prowl merely looked at him. Bumblebee spoke, hesitantly, "Uh, Spike? Jazz is..special to Prowl."

Spike looked at his friend and asked, "Special?"

Prowl smiled, a tight little smile. "He is my other half, my sparkmate."

Spike could feel his belief system rearranging itself to accommodate this new information. "What, like being married or something?"

"Your marriage ceremonies are a mere shadow of what Jazz and I share." Prowl informed him.

Spike leaned against Bumblebee in shock. "Yeah, but, uh, aren't you both guys?"

Bumblebee chuckled, the armour plates under Spike vibrating with his mirth. "Spike, I keep telling you that we don't have gender the way you humans do."

"Well, yeah, but…" Spike foundered, trying to assimilate this information with his preconceived ideas about the Autobots.

Prowl took pity on him and explained, "Humans have genders for the procreating of the species. We do not have such methods of reproduction, so gender is rather meaningless to us. We can form a temporary bond with another sparkbearer to come together to create a new spark, but the bond doesn't have to last past the creation of a new spark. The type of bond that Jazz and I have is…different. It is permanent and deep. We don't often form such bonds, because it is a life-long commitment, but Jazz and I…we balance each other and we couldn't survive without the other one." Prowl looked over at the table where Ratchet, Wheeljack, and Perceptor were working on Jazz.

Spike groped for understanding. "What, if Jazz died you'd die too?"

Prowl returned his gaze to him. "Yes."

At the blunt answer, Spike gazed at him in horror. "Why are you even fighting in this war and not hiding in some remote world where this war couldn't ever touch you?"

"Because if you don't stand up for what you believe, eventually you won't be able to stand up at all. This war would have found us, and we wouldn't have the support and understanding of our fellow Autobots. If one of us is called to the Matrix, we will both go and we accept that."

"Yeah, but Optimus would lose two officers at once! How can he allow that?"

Prowl frowned, "Because allowing us to bond like that is why we're fighting this war. Optimus really does believe in free choice."

Spike thought about that for a while. "OK, I guess I get that."

"Besides, I'm not sure Optimus ever thought we'd actually going through with bonding, since we hated each other at first sight."

Bumblebee laughed, "You and Jazz? Hated each other? No way, Prowl, not as tight as the two of you are."

"Oh, I assure you Bumblebee, Jazz and I loathed each other and continued to do so for many vorns thereafter."

Spike and Bee exchanged a look before Spike settled himself comfortably on Bee's chest armour.

"Tell us the story, Prowl."

"Please?" Spike gave the tactician his best puppy-dog eyed look.

Prowl vented air, looking over at his mate, then back to the two eagerly awaiting his next words.

"Fine."

Prowl began.

"When Jazz and I met, it was a battle much like the one we fought today – the Decepticons kept coming, and the medics were patching us up and sending us back out. I was very unsettled, as I had just returned to Optimus after two vorns undercover in a Decepticon unit, trying to understand how the 'Con army worked and what the command structure was, plus trying to understand their objectives in an attempt to end the war through diplomacy."

"Sounds like a lot of tasks for an undercover assignment." Spike told him.

"Perhaps, but Sentinel felt that I could do it, and Optimus carried through with Sentinel's plan after he became Prime. To continue my story, I had only returned to Prime's unit, and I didn't know anyone. Optimus had replaced almost everyone in the unit, and I felt that he was testing me now that I was back, to see if I would continue or be transferred. I was giving orders, but another mech was countermanding me, and I was getting frustrated. I finally confronted him..."

"It was Jazz, of course," interjected Bumblebee.

"Yes, it was, and he wouldn't back off. Optimus had to intervene and allow me to do my job. Jazz didn't forgive me for years, but we won that battle."

Bumblebee told him, "Jazz would say that it was due to his actions up to that point."

Prowl nodded, "Yes, he would, and his strategy was sound, but I had inside information that allowed us to do something the 'Cons did not expect and that allowed us to win. To be fair to Jazz, my orders did seem to be against the best interests of the Autobots and he was trying to rescue our forces from what he perceived as my wrong-headed ideas."

"Betcha weren't saying that at the time, though." Spike said.

"No, I wasn't. It really was a very poor start to our relationship."

Bumblebee looked over at the prone saboteur thoughtfully. "Actually, Jazz holds grudges sometimes. Were you one of those cases?"

Prowl followed his gaze and nodded. "Yes. He _hated_ me for vorns. It was very difficult for us."

Spike waved his hand vaguely, "How did you get from there to here?"

"It's a long story, Spike."

"Well, we're not going anywhere until Bee's repaired, and you're probably off-duty until Jazz is…" Spike's voice trailed off.

"Indeed. Optimus knows that I would be worth very little at this point in time. Very well, if you have time and want to listen, I will tell you."

Bumblebee smiled up at Prowl, "Besides, it distracts you from what's going on over there."

"There is that, Bumblebee, there is that."

End of Prayer 1.


	2. Prayer 2

Title: St. Francis Prayer 2: Where there is injury, pardon

By: mmouse15

Rating: K+

Warnings: implied intimacy, slash

**

* * *

**Spike leaned against Bumblebee, both of them keeping an eye on the activity around Jazz's table. Prowl was seated at the head of the table, his hands cupping Jazz's helm as Ratchet and Wheeljack worked on the saboteur. Perceptor was out of the medbay, getting supplies from storage for them.

"Wow. I just never would have thought." Spike said.

"Thought what?" came a quiet voice. Spike whipped around to stare at Ironhide.

"Oh, uh, Prowl and Jazz." Spike motioned toward the cluster of mechs.

"You've only just found out about them?" Ironhide asked.

"Yeah, and I'm still having problems getting a handle on it. I mean, Prowl told us a story and said at the end of it that they hated each other, so…"

"Ah, must have been when they first met and they were both trying to be the team's tactician."

"Yeah, it was." Spike looked back at the red warrior. "Do you know more stories?"

"Well, I know a couple, but! First things first. Bee, you haven't sent your report to Prime, and he's about to come down here and reconfigure you into a typewriter, whatever the pit that is, so would you please transmit that over and I'll tell you the story?"

"Oh, I forgot. Sure 'Hide, give me a second." Bumblebee's eyes started flashing, a sign to Spike that he was communicating with someone or something in the Ark. "Done. Now tell."

"Well, it was before your time Bee, so I don't know if you've ever heard this story. Now Prime wanted both Jazz and Prowl on his team because they were the best at what they did. But after the battle when Prowl rejoined us, Jazz made it very clear that he didn't trust Prowl at all. He would make himself obnoxious in officer meetings, questioning every plan Prowl came up with. Well, one time he pushed too hard. Prowl had come up with a plan to rescue an important Neutral official, someone that had some pull in the Neutral camps and would bring a lot of mechs to one side or the other, because the war had gotten to the point that you had to choose if you hadn't already. Anyway, Prowl had come up with this plan. Now the fortress that this Neutral was held in was the same one that Prowl had been stationed at while he was undercover with the Decepticons, so he knew it pretty well. Also knowing Prowl, he'd probably hit the database to find out if anyone else had any information about this particular outpost. So he comes up with this plan and both Optimus and I reviewed it and think it's solid. Prowl presents it to the officers and Jazz…"

"Oh, no," breathed Spike.

"Oh, yes. Jazz tore the plan to shreds. It turns out that he and his team had infiltrated the fortress, but they hadn't noted it in the database so Prowl's search came up empty. Jazz really got lyrical as he described the many and varied ways that Prowl's infiltration team would get slagged if we followed Prowl's plan. Prowl was embarrassed, of course, and I could tell that Prime was getting madder and madder. I think the final straw was when Jazz leaned back, folded his arms, and put the smuggest smile on his face. Prime lost it."

"Optimus lost it?" came from Bumblebee and Spike.

"Well, yes. It does happen. He chewed Jazz out for withholding vital information and for not being a team player."

"Ouch," said Spike.

"Yeah. Anyway, he then got a brilliant idea and told Prowl and Jazz that they had two joors to come up with a workable plan and present it to the officers."

"Two joors? That's not very much time, Ironhide." Bumblebee looked amazed.

"No, it's not, but it was critical that we do our best to rescue this Neutral. See, Optimus felt that he should have a chance to choose which side he wanted, not be forced into choosing one side or another. So anyway, the two retreat to Prowl's office. Now, I happen to know that they spent the first joor fighting with each other until Prowl lost his temper."

Silence met this statement. Ironhide grinned. "Yes, he really did Bee. Now Prowl, he gets all cold and clear when he's mad, and he told Jazz that their leader was expecting them to behave like the soldiers they were and to have a plan ready at the appointed time. He then said that if they worked together they might be able to cover each other's weaknesses but that they certainly weren't going to accomplish anything of any importance continuing they way they had been. Well, that was a prod to Jazz's pride, and they modified Prowl's original plan with all the information Jazz and his team had gathered and were able to present it to us on time. Then they had to pick their team, and Prowl insisted on one 'bot and only one 'bot. He gave way to Jazz on everyone else, but he insisted that he bring along his engineer."

"Who was that?" Spike wanted to know.

"Wheeljack. Prowl wanted him because Wheeljack was a genius at explosives."

"Never would have guessed that!" laughed Spike.

"Well, yeah, it's kind of obvious now. Prowl had done his research and had hooked Wheeljack up with Grapple and they had come up with a plan for bringing this particular stronghold down around the 'Cons heads. Now Jazz disagreed with this part of Prowl's plan, and he brought his objections to the meeting. His argument was that they already knew this particular fortress and could get in and out, but if Prowl blew it to bits they'd have to start all over again with a new place and that would mean a large number of deaths as they explored the new stronghold, since the sector was too valuable for the 'Cons to abandon it. Prowl agreed, but pointed out that it had to look like they tried to bring it down or the Decepticons would get suspicious. It was agreed and they headed out soon thereafter. Prowl got an introduction to Jazz's way of doing covert operations. For one, Jazz always took a back-up team that was left at a rendezvous point so that he had fresh troops to cover his retreat."

"And provide medical help before we get back to base." Bumblebee interjected.

"Right. Anyway, they dropped off the team and headed toward the fortress. They got in with little fuss, and Jazz worked his magic on the holding cells and found that chief in a right mess. Jazz told me later that the mech was almost off-line from all the damage. Wheeljack was working on him before they'd even opened the other cells, trying to get him stabilized. The 'Cons had captured and brought in almost all of this chief's followers, so they had twenty Neutrals to get out."

"I don't envy them that job. That's a lot of civilians to move!" Bumblebee was fascinated by this tale.

"Yes it was. Wheeljack got the chief stabilized and a couple of his people had some medical training so they took over while 'Jack rigged his explosives. Jazz sent a couple of mechs to set up a diversion and they started getting those Neutrals out. Well, it turns out that one of the Neutrals really wanted to become a Decepticon, and he started raising a huge fuss once they'd cleared the cells. Jazz dropped him with a paralyzing shot, but the damage was done. The diversion started, but the noise had alerted the wrong 'Cons and the whole party was in trouble. Most of the neutrals had damage and all were low on energy. However, Wheeljack had the answer. He pulled out some of his special bombs and started passing them out, warning everyone to throw them and not look back and to get the pit out of there as fast as they could move."

"What were these bombs?" asked Spike.

"For the most part, they're smoke bombs but they have surprises in them – some had a flash explosion, some blew up, others let loose a high-pitched tone that temporarily incapacitated any nearby mech."

"Hey, we use those for Special Ops now!" Bumblebee said.

"Yes, but this was Jazz's introduction to Wheeljack's ability to make very useful tools for an infiltration unit. Believe me after we got back from the operation, Jazz spent the next orn closeted with Wheeljack picking his CPU for any useful tools for his teams."

Bumblebee was laughing. "Wow! How did Prowl know about them?"

"He'd known Wheeljack before the war. He was always blowing up his lab back then, too, because he was one of the more famous pranksters at the academy. Most of his most useful inventions came out of his pranking days. These smoke bombs were one of his first inventions that worked exactly the way they were supposed to, and Prowl knew about them because he'd gotten caught by them. The sonic ones were the worst, because they disabled your comms as well as your audios, and you had to reboot your comms to have any communication. Anyway, 'Jack let some of these beauties go, which allowed our folks to make a hasty retreat. They took damage, but both teams made it to the rendezvous where the back-up team covered for them as they continued to retreat. Back at base, we took all the neutrals to the medbay for virus scans and check-ups. The chief neutral was so impressed that we'd come to rescue him that he joined our forces that very joor. Most of his fellows also joined, and the few that didn't chose to leave Cybertron, hoping to find a planet they could colonize. I don't know what happened to them, I was glad they had the choice."

Spike thought about the story, then asked, "Did Prowl and Jazz ever make up after all that mess?"

"They did. Jazz was a gentlebot and apologized to Prowl and Prime at the next officer meeting as a first order of business, since without Wheeljack and Prowl's planning, many of the Neutrals and some of our mechs would have been lost. Prowl accepted his apology immediately and went on as if nothing had ever happened. After that, though, Jazz treated Prowl's plans with a lot more respect. He also was given his own area on the database that was secure to put his intel in. No one could access it without Jazz's permission, not even Prime. But it would ping when there was a match from one of Prowl's queries and tell him the data was under Special Ops passkeys, and Prowl could go to Jazz and get the data if Jazz thought that Prowl really needed it. Plus, Prowl started running his plans by Jazz first, then by me and Optimus before taking them to the general officers meetings. Prowl also started helping Jazz plan his covert operations. All in all, they did start getting along a lot better during working hours, and I suppose that was a good start.

"Primus damn it!" came Ratchet's voice, and Prowl stood quickly.

"Perc, get that lead in here now!" Wheeljack was emphatic but quiet.

"Yes, yes, Wheeljack…there!" Perceptor stepped back.

"Yes, that's good. Damn. Perc, we're going to need another pump, would you…?" Ratchet asked, his hands flying over Jazz's chest. Spike felt a bit queasy, watching Ratchet's hand fold into tools so quickly that he blurred as he moved. His human eyes couldn't follow and Spike was forced to look away before he became ill.

"I'll get it Perceptor." First Aid was moving to the door of the medbay.

"Ah, thank you 'Aid." Perceptor turned his attention back to the energon lines he had been sealing.

"Ratchet?" came Prowl's quiet voice.

"Nothing major, Prowl, his secondary energon pump failed, probably due to all the shrapnel that got in his lines. His primary is still good, it was just a surprise."

"Thank you." Prowl slowly resumed his seat, and Spike released the breath he'd been holding.

Spike curled in closer to Bumblebee and waved good-bye to Ironhide as he left the medbay.

End of Prayer 2.


	3. Prayer 3

Title: St. Francis Prayer 3: Where there is doubt, faith

By: mmouse15

Rating: K+

Warnings: implied intimacy, slash

**

* * *

**Mirage slipped into the medbay with some supplies for Swoop.

"Me Swoop thank you, Mirage." The dinobot eagerly took the spools of wire from the spy's hands.

"You are quite welcome, Swoop." Mirage then came over to Bumblebee and looked over the damage. "I'm glad to see you are in one piece, my friend."

"Thanks, Mirage."

"How are you passing the time while you are waiting for repairs?"

Spike laughed. "We've been getting stories told to us."

"Oh? What kind of stories?" was Mirage's question.

"Prowl told us about his meeting with Jazz, and then Ironhide told us about their first planned mission together. It was interesting."

"Yes, it was. I'd never heard these stories before, so it was pretty nifty to know a bit about them." Bumblebee was wistfully looking over at the cluster of mechs around his superior.

"Well, I have a story about them. Do you want to hear it?" Mirage asked, his optics gleaming.

"Yes!" Spike and Bumblebee exclaimed in unison.

"Alright. Are you comfortable, Spike?"

"Yes, Mirage. Story, please."

"Certainly. Well, if you heard the story from Ironhide about the rescue of the Neutrals…that was the story, correct?"

"Yes, it was."

"Good. Well, then you know that Jazz learned that Prowl had some tricks that Jazz didn't know, and he was much more respectful of Prowl's tactical and planning abilities. Now, they still weren't friends, but they worked together very well. I had just joined the Autobots because the Towers had fallen and I had nowhere else to go. I asked to see the head of Special Operations and was laughed at. I insisted, and got his name at least and his posting. So I asked a couple of acquaintances to give me an introduction, and about an orn later, a white and black mech shows up at our weapons training. Now, I'd been using weapons most of my existence for hunting, and I was quite a good shot. This unknown mech watched us, and after we'd done the drill, came over to me and introduced himself to me. He told me that he'd been told to meet up with me. I told him that I had an interest in being in his group and not being a grunt. He laughed and asked what I had to offer the Special Ops team. I activated my invisibility and laughed at the look on his face! He couldn't see me, even with all the special modifications he'd made to his optics. The very next day I was off with him to his base for training as a Special Ops agent. Well, the Autobots were in a good position at this point in the war – they'd made progress against the Decepticons, the engineering team was figuring out ways to synthesize fuel so the rationing wasn't quite as strict as it had been, and Jazz was feeling really good about our chances of actually winning the war. He'd gotten pretty cocky, too, because with all the help Jazz had from Prowl, he'd successfully run dozens of ops against the 'Cons and no one had gotten caught."

"Ooo, testing the will of Primus was he?" Bumblebee winced.

"Yes, he was. Our very next operation the whole team got caught. It was a minor raid, but Jazz would not abandon his men. I was on the raid and activated my invisibility cloak and followed the 'Cons to their stronghold with my teammates. I was able to find a way out of the fortress and make my way back to base. Once I was shielded from the 'Cons, I commed the base and got Jazz, giving him my report. He told me to hide and go into recharge if I could. They'd bring me energon and meet me in a joor or less, so I curled up and drifted off. They were there very quickly, too quickly really. Prowl was not at HQ at the time, he was off with Ultra Magnus' group because they had lost their tactician and needed one more than Optimus did, so no tactician had looked at Jazz's rather hasty plan."

"Oh, no." Spike groaned.

"Oh, yes. Jazz rescued his team and got most of the team out, but he got captured. Obviously, this was bad, since Jazz was fifth in the command line by then, and he knew a great deal about Autobot plans and operations. Plus, as head of Special Ops, he made most of the plans that were the most harmful to the Decepticons. Having him as a prisoner of the 'Cons was a very bad thing for us and for him. The only salvation was that Shockwave was in transit and wouldn't get to this stronghold for eight joors."

"So you had a little bit of time." Bumblebee said.

"Yes, we did. Prowl had came back in the mean time and he had a plan to rescue Jazz. Prowl was a planner, and he had plans already stored in the database. He'd update the plans based upon new recruits and new abilities, so I was already in his plans. He had a plan and a team put together and out in two joors."

"Wow, that's fast," was Bumblebee's comment.

"Never let it be said that Prowl dawdles. Once he knows what he's doing, he moves quickly. The plan was that I would sneak in, invisible, and get Jazz out while Prowl was leading a force against the main gate and acting as a distraction. Prowl didn't really have a hope of taking this fortress or we would have done it by then, but he acted as a wonderful distraction. Wheeljack was key. He had some new surprise bombs and they got shot over the wall. They were rather devastating, but Wheeljack only had a limited supply because they were difficult to make and keep stable. They must have been horrible, because Prowl told me later that they actually did manage to crack the gates. By then, I had Jazz out and Prowl's team broke off their attack. Jazz was in very good shape because they were waiting on Shockwave's arrival so they hadn't done much to him. He had a little external damage and no internal damage. I told Jazz why he'd been rescued so quickly, and Jazz stopped doubting Prowl's dedication to the cause and stopped questioning his abilities. I think that was really the start of their friendship. Soon thereafter, Jazz started spending time with Prowl when they didn't have to do so for operational reasons and taking strategy games to Prowl's office at the end of cycles. I was invited sometimes, and found it funny that Prowl was good at games which needed an orderly strategy…"

"Think chess, Spike," interjected Bumblebee.

"…he excelled at games with chance thrown in."

"Such as Risk." Bumblebee added.

"Yes. It was nice to see them get together and get to know each other outside of their duties."

"That was a nice story. Thank you, Mirage."

"You are welcome. I do need to be on my way. I hope you are repaired soon, Bumblebee."

"Thanks, Mirage. See you later."

After the elegant Autobot had left, Spike patted Bumblebee. "I'm really glad that our friendship has had a much easier start than theirs."

"Me, too, Spike."

Spike leaned against his friend and looked over at Jazz. Ratchet was in working quickly and quietly. Wheeljack had finished whatever he was working on and he and Ratchet were talking over private comms. Wheeljack's head fins flashed cheerfully as he nodded at whatever Ratchet had said. It looked like progress was finally being made, and Spike hoped they'd get Jazz stabilized soon.

End of Prayer 3.


	4. Prayer 4

Title: St. Francis Prayer 4: Where there is despair, hope

By: mmouse15

Rating: K+

Warnings: implied intimacy, slash

**

* * *

**Bumblebee and Spike were still waiting for someone to be able to come and fix Bee's leg, and in the meanwhile they were talking in quiet voices about the story they'd just heard from Mirage. Jazz was almost obscured by the bodies of the mechs working around him. Prowl was still sitting at the head of the table, his hands cradling Jazz's head while Ratchet and Wheeljack worked on the abdominal area and Perceptor assisted. First Aid and Swoop were finishing up the mechs that had been injured in the battle, occasionally comming Ratchet with a question.

"That relay's fried, rip it out and replace it, 'Jack."

"On it, Ratch," came the answer.

"Hey guys, what's going on?" a quiet voice came from behind them. Spike jumped, having not heard the soft footfalls of the mech that had just spoken.

"Hey, Sides, how are ya?" Bumblebee asked.

"I'm good. How are you?"

"Eh. Waiting for someone to fix my leg."

Sideswipe looked at the damage and whistled softly. "What the pit happened?"

"Dunno, it won't stop leaking. It's like acid, but I didn't feel any acid burns elsewhere, so that doesn't make sense. Anyway, the whole line needs replacing and meanwhile, I get energon through this port so I don't shut down from lack of energy." Bumblebee told him.

"Nasty. Well, I came to check on you, since you weren't in the rec room and nobody knew where you were." Sides informed him.

"Oops. Sorry about that."

"It's OK we just wanted to make sure the roster was complete so we knew if we had to mount a search party. So, what are you two doing while you're waiting for repairs?"

Spike laughed softly. "Listening to stories about Prowl and Jazz."

"Prowl and Jazz? Like, what kind of stories?"

"Oh, how they met, how they learned how to work together, that kind of thing."

An evil grin spread across Sideswipe's face. "Do you want to hear another story?"

"I don't know, do I?" Spike wanted to know.

"Yes, you do. I'm telling it anyway. So, we had a few vorns of fighting, and really we were at a stalemate. Optimus was starting to lose hope that the war could be won, and we were exploring possible concessions to the Decepticons. Then we got a new recruit into the ranks. He was a communications specialist that had been off-world and the effect he had on the ranks was impressive. He was very quickly vital to the Autobot forces for moral building and he and Jazz became best friends."

"Blaster!" came Spike's whoop of glee.

"Indeed. Blaster and Jazz were cast from the same personality mold. They are charming, friendly, inquisitive and naturally capable of reading a mech's mood. It makes them very good at moral building, and Blaster was quickly moved into Jazz's closest circle of friends. I think this caught Prowl by surprise, but I knew something that Prowl didn't. Jazz was interested in Prowl and was moving slowly so that he didn't scare Prowl off. But he and Blaster clicked, and it was good for him to have a friend that he could just relax and have a good time. I think that Jazz got his first ray of hope that Prowl might return his feelings one cycle. Jazz and Prowl had a standing date after duty cycles. Jazz would pick a game and meet Prowl in his office, and they'd play the game for a half a joor or longer before heading off to recharge. It was time for Prowl to unwind and for Jazz to spend time with Prowl and build a relationship, even if Prowl didn't know that's what they were doing."  
"Sounds like Prowl was oblivious to Jazz's plotting." Bumblebee said.

"Yeah, he was. The rest of us saw it, but Prowl had no idea. So anyway, Jazz lost track of time because we were playing Statues in the commissary, which was the only room in the base big enough for that kind of game."

"What's Statues?" Spike wanted to know.

"Oh, it's this great game!" Bumblebee enthused. "Each mech that plays tries to put himself in the most precarious of positions and hold it until the lead mech gives the signal to change positions. It's a complicated game, the scoring is done by the observers and is based on the difficulty of the pose, the precariousness of the position and the number of limbs required to hold the mech in that position."

"But you can't move?" Spike asked.

"Right."

"Sounds like one of our kid games. We call it Silly Statues, and you can't move while the person that is It looks, but when they look away, you can move. First person to It gets to be the new It."

"Hm, sounds similar," Sideswipe said, "but ours is a bit more complicated since you literally can't move and the observers can help try to topple you by stomping on the floor or some such. We fight dirty. Anyway, we'd been playing Statues and Jazz is really good at it. Blaster had a new way of telling us how long we had to hold a pose. He'd play a song and when the song was over, we'd all vote on who'd won the round, then you had a little bit of time to stretch out the kinks and get ready for the next round. We'd been having a lot of fun, and Jazz had lost track of time so he hadn't gone to Prowl's office to play games with him. Prowl comes in looking like a lost turbopup to get his ration of energon before recharging. I saw the look on Jazz's face when he saw Prowl and realized the time, but I don't think anyone else saw it. He greeted Prowl as if nothing were wrong, but Prowl just waves him off and goes to get his energon. Now this doesn't sit right with Jazz, and he quits the game and goes over to Prowl, tries to make nice with Prowl but gets rebuffed. I see that this hurts Jazz even more, but he's nice and wishes Prowl a good recharge and lets him leave."

"Oh, no." Spike said.

"Wait for it, Spike. Jazz wanders back to the game but before he can tangle himself back into some crazy pose, Sunny and I grab him, haul him away from the game and tell him to not be an idiot. He can't give up just because Prowl can't read the cues. He needed to get his own cube and follow Prowl and make Prowl forgive him. Jazz started smiling about half way through our lecture and grabs some energon and heads out the door. Sunny and I are interested, so we head out after him, but they're just outside the door and we almost tangle ourselves stopping so we can listen in. Jazz decided to play it cool, asks Prowl if he's done playing the self-sacrificing officer and if so, could they have the unwind time that Jazz has gotten used to?"

"Nice of him to offer Prowl an out." Spike noted.

"Yeah, Jazz made it easy for Prowl to save his pride. So they head off with their energon to Prowl's quarters to play a game."

"What happened next?" Spike wanted to know.

"Well, the games moved from Prowl's office to their quarters. It depended upon who was more tired or which game. Anyway, it was progress for them both, and Prowl learned a lesson about jealousy. Jazz and Blaster were friends, and what they did was important to the troops, but what Prowl and Jazz had together was also important, more important to Jazz than Blaster. It gave Jazz enough hope to keep him pursuing Prowl, and it made Prowl think about what his feelings for Jazz really were." Sideswipe finished.

Wheeljack joined them, looking over Bumblebee's leg. "Well, Jazz is doing better so Ratchet's sent me over here to fix Bee's leg. Hope you don't mind me listening in to your stories."

"Jazz is better?" Sideswipe stood and peered over at the berth where Jazz lay. Ratchet had removed the spark regulator and was working on something in Jazz's midriff, Perceptor assisting him.

"Yes, Sides, he's out of danger right now. Ratchet's got him in forced stasis but he's going to repair his pumps and then bring him back online soon."

"Good. That's good." Sideswipe sidled away, heading for the door. Spike was smiling up at Wheeljack, who flashed his headfins at him cheerfully as he opened Bumblebee's armour to get at the leaking energon line.

"Spike, you need to recharge. Curl up against Bee there while I'm fixing him."

Spike did as he suggested, sliding down into the crook of Bee's shoulder and curling up. Yawning, he was glad for the warmth of the living metal that made him feel secure and comfortable.

End of Prayer 4.


	5. Prayer 5

Title: St. Francis Prayer 5: Where there is darkness, light

By: mmouse15

Rating: K+

Warnings: implied intimacy, slash

* * *

When Spike awoke, Bumblebee was recharging peacefully. Wheeljack was still working on his leg, but Spike could tell that he was just fixing the superficial damage.

"Is Bee OK?" he asked, his voice husky.

"He's fine." Wheeljack offered Spike his hand for a lift down to the ground. Spike crossed the floor to the human sized lavatory the Autobots had installed for their friends and refreshed himself. When he came back out, Wheeljack offered him a lift up to the table and then pulled a sandwich and a thermos out of his subspace, offering them to Spike silently. He took them, unwrapping the sandwich and digging in with a hearty appetite.

"How's Jazz?" Spike asked after his third sandwich.

"Jazz is still in forced stasis because he's now had three secondary pumps fail on us, but Ratchet needed to recharge so we sent him off." Wheeljack indicated the 'Do Not Disturb' red light over Ratchet's office door, then looked back over at Jazz. Prowl was still seated in his chair but it had been moved over to the side of Jazz's table and Prowl was deep in recharge, one hand on the table and clutching Jazz's.

"Oh. Man, I never knew that Prowl and Jazz were so close. They don't act it at all."

"Well, Prowl's a private 'bot at the best of times, and Jazz is really good at creating a façade that never lets you in deeper than he wants you. So it's not surprising. I believe that Bumblebee also did not know the depth of caring between them."

"So do you have any stories about them, or would that be too nosy for me to ask?"

Wheeljack chuckled. "Oh, I have a very good story about them, and since so many 'bots here know it, I doubt that Prowl would be upset if you knew it, too."

"Okay, let's hear it!" Spike got himself comfortable.

"Well, I heard Mirage telling you the story about Prowl's first rescue of Jazz. This is the story of the second rescue."

"Ooo. Was it as easy?"

"Well, no, it wasn't. In fact, we didn't…well, let me start at the beginning. As you've probably seen, we do not have decisive battles between our factions, we win one, the 'Cons win one, it goes back and forth. We're lucky to have an advantage for a brief time, but then the 'Cons come up with countermeasures and the advantage swings back to them until we figure some counterstrike and regain the advantage. And it's gone on like this for vorns. Well, Jazz hated this state of affairs, and he would do amazing things to try and take back the advantage when he could. So he'd come up with a plan to retake an area, and it really depended upon removing a small power plant that had, so far, survived the war simply by being too difficult to remove. It was up on the edge of one of the canyons, so it could only be attacked from one direction. Jazz was sure that he could come up over the cliff edge and sneak in the back."

"Could he?" asked Spike.

"Yes, he could and did. They managed to get the charges set without detection, get some intel they hadn't expected, and were heading for the exit when they found a door which was not in the original blueprints."

"How'd they…"  
"Grapple. He'd built the place and complained mightily that Jazz was going to blow it up, but his help was invaluable and he did give it, albeit grudgingly. So, a door not in the plans pinged off Jazz's personal 'something's-not-right' radar and he opened the door." Wheeljack paused here, lost in his memories.

"What did they find?" Spike was hanging on 'Jack's every word.

"They found…Primus, it's still hard after all these vorns. They found a torture chamber. Remains of Neutrals, Autobots, Decepticons…anybot and everybot. It was…horrifying. Thank Primus that Ratchet had long insisted that small teams like that carry a portable spark detector. It only took a couple of breems to find the two that were still on-line, but another breem to break them away from their restraints. They got the 'bots out and strapped to an Autobot and got them over the cliff when they were discovered. "

"Holy moley," breathed Spike.

"Heh. Yeah. Jazz had stayed on top to be the last 'bot over the cliff, and they got him pinned in no time. Well, there was nothing out there, you know, except a cliff face, and Jazz wasn't about to go over the edge while his 'bots were on the lines. By the time they went slack, Jazz had been captured and managed to kick the grappling hooks out and over so his team could make their get-away."

"Yeah, but the power plant's rigged to blow up! What did he do?" Spike was hanging on his every word.

"Well, this is Jazz. He made sure he was near a fissure when the time was right and he just dropped when the first set of explosions went off. Jazz has always been able to wedge himself into very small spaces and it really stood him in good stead this time. He took a lot of damage but he was alive. Unfortunately, the Decepticons found him before we did and since they were extremely upset about the loss of their power plant, Jazz took a lot of damage on his journey to Shockwave's fortress."

"Shockwave again." Spike said.

"Oh, yes. Shockwave is probably the most loyal lieutenant Megatron has, and he's very good at extracting information, so he gets all the high-up prisoners and any that might have useful information. Of course, this is rather like the immovable object meeting the unstoppable object. Jazz doesn't break under torture, and Shockwave has never failed to break someone. Odds were on Shockwave of course, and Optimus was determined to get Jazz out of there before he off-lined himself."

"Off-lined? What do you mean, exactly?" came the query.

"Spike, Jazz was never going to break under torture. If he got to the point where he didn't feel that he could hold out any longer, Jazz had many methods of off-lining himself permanently."

"A suicide pill," breathed Spike.

Wheeljack was obviously looking up the reference, and nodded once he'd done so. "Yes, that's it exactly. Anyway, Smokescreen was in charge of the extraction team but when Prowl came back he took over. He knew that speed was essential and so he went out with only a partial plan."

"Very unlike him," commented Spike.

"Yes, but in this case, it was a very good thing. I had come up with an anti-matter cannon. It was really too powerful and uncontrollable, but I went with them to make sure that if the Primus-damned thing blew up, it would at least do so in a manner that caused damage to the Decepticons and not us."

Spike was laughing. "You can't guarantee that, 'Jack. I've seen what you're capable of."

"Pshaw. The cannon worked perfectly and took out the gates as neat and clean as you could wish. So we were in quickly before they could organize a defense, and we knew where we were going so we didn't waste any time getting there. Jazz was still on-line, but barely. You should have seen his face light up when Prowl spoke and gave him the passwords. You see, Shockwave had ripped out his optics to deprive him of sight and had tinkered with his audials so that Jazz could barely hear. Prowl had a private commlink with Jazz that he used, and we were very glad that someone could communicate with Jazz. He was a wreck, most of his armour torn off, pain sensors off-line or forced on-line in areas, his midriff open and Primus knows what machines were hooked in there. Jazz couldn't walk, and Prowl didn't even discuss it. He unhooked him from all those machines, slung Jazz over his back and walked out. I set the anti-matter cannon to overload and we left, double-quick. We'd barely gotten a couple of kliks away when it started to blow, and we kept moving as fast as we could until we were clear. That cannon left a crater deep enough to park a star ship. Shockwave got away, no fool he, and probably some of his soldiers did too. Remarkably, that sector was very quiet for two vorns."

"But what about Jazz?"

"Well, Prowl wouldn't stop to rest until we were back at base. You should have seen the fit that Ratchet threw. It was impressive. I believe he cursed Shockwave's lineage back to the Thirteen before he was done, and cursed his line forward so that if Shockwave ever does decide to reproduce, his sparklings will be ham-handed, no-eyed, stumbling idiots. If he's lucky, of course. Anyway, Ratchet got to work on Jazz, but the 'bot was extremely agitated and very difficult to work on. Finally, Ratch asked Prowl to communicate with Jazz and find out what in the Pit was wrong. Turns out that Jazz wanted Prowl to stay close enough that he could feel Prowl's spark. That way he knew he wasn't back in Shockwave's torture chamber. So Prowl moved into the medbay to work and stayed there for the entire three orns of Jazz's physical recovery."

"Wow."

"Indeed. When they finally got to his optics, Jazz had made so many modifications there was no way for us to wire in a set of optics that would work, and believe me we tried many varieties. We finally settled on a standard set for his model and the visor has all his modifications. Means he's not blind without the visor, just severely handicapped visually. Or at least, that's what he'd have us believe. Anyway, ever since then Prowl and Jazz have had it in for Shockwave, and they will do almost anything to thwart him in his plans."

"Enemy number one, then." Spike murmured.

"Well, no, that really is Megatron, but it's a personal thing between the three of them. He's the symbol of all that is wrong with Megatron's ideals and methods and one of the reasons they keep fighting is to keep 'bots away from Shockwave."

"Yeah, I'll bet." Spike was appalled at the amount of damage Jazz must have taken.

Wheeljack shrugged. "Well, it was a long time ago, but it was the start of more than friendship between them. Jazz being pretty much unable to be without Prowl in the medbay was, I think, the first sign for Prowl that Jazz felt more for Prowl that mere friendship and not being slow in the processor, he knew it."

"Another story?" Spike perked up.

"Yes, but not for now." 'Jack finished up with Bee's leg and replaced the last piece of armour, then reached behind Bee's head to flip the switch to allow him to come out of recharge when he was ready.

"Well, thanks for the story. It was really interesting."

"You're welcome, Spike."

End of Prayer 5.


	6. Prayer 6

Title: St. Francis Prayer 6: Where there is sadness, joy

By: mmouse15

Rating: K+

Warnings: implied intimacy, slash

* * *

Spike hurried into the medbay. Bumblebee had been released, but Spike wanted to know how Jazz was doing. As he entered, he noticed that there were no occupied tables other than Jazz's, and Prowl was still next to Jazz with a stack of datapads on a small table next to him. He was absorbed in the pad in his hand, and Spike was able to get fairly close before Prowl noticed him.

"Spike. Have you come to see how the patient is doing?"

"Yes, if you don't mind."

"Why would I mind?"

"Um, I don't know?"

"Hm. Well, where would you like to be?"

Spike looked around. "Can I be up with Jazz?"

"Certainly." Prowl lifted him and waited while Spike made himself comfortable while not touching Jazz at all. "Have you enjoyed the stories you've been hearing?"

Spike began to stammer, "Uh…well…I mean…I'm sorry!"

Prowl waved off his apology. "It's fine. It's not like I want to hide my relationship with Jazz."

"Well yeah, I suppose. I just never knew, 'cause I never saw any signs of it."

"Why would you?"

Spike shrugged, drawing random doodles with his finger on the shining surface of the table upon which he sat. "Most people in a relationship give off certain…I dunno…vibes around the person they're interested in. You and Jazz don't give off those vibes."

Prowl chuckled. "We do, but it's not on a level you can read. Humans say a lot with their bodies that are unspoken. For us, it's spark communication and any other Cybertronian would know that Jazz and I were together simply by the communications we exchange."

"Oh." Spike thought about that.

"You are a young species and have not ventured beyond your own solar system, so you judge us by your own standards. They do not fit."

"Yeah, okay, I guess I get that, but if we can't judge your relationship by our standards, how are we supposed to judge it?"

Prowl leaned forward slightly to establish eye-to-optic contact. "You are not supposed to judge it at all. It simply is and requires no judgment from you or from anyone else. Our relationship makes me happy, makes Jazz happy, fulfills us and makes us content with what we have together. I have a companion in my life that I know will be with me until the end of our days, and we can communicate on a level unimaginable to you. "

Spike raised his hands in surrender. "Right, right, I hear you. Sorry, Prowl."

"Apology accepted."

A long silence followed. Spike finally broke it. "So, if I might try again, how would I tell if there's another bonded couple, since I've discovered more in the past couple of days than I ever thought there would be."

"Ah. Well. You use your eyes and your brain. Take Ratchet and Wheeljack. 'Jack really has no place in the medbay, does he? Unless we need every medically trained 'bot after a battle, 'Jack should be in his lab and not in the medbay, but he's here all the time. That would be a good way. Another example would be Red Alert and Inferno. Why does Inferno spend so much time in the security room when he's search-and-rescue or a fighter? He does it because that's where Red Alert spends most of his time, and Inferno wants to be around Red where and when he can."

"Oh. But you and Jazz are supposed to work together, so how would I tell with you?"

"Jazz has his own office." Prowl stated.

"He does?!"

"Yes. He does not need to work on the spare desk in my office, but he does."

Spike thought about the new information he'd gotten for a long time while Prowl worked his way through a few more datapads. The quiet was interrupted by Windcharger coming in to collect the datapads Prowl was finished with and drop off a new batch.

"Thank you Windcharger." Prowl went through the new datapads and re-prioritized the entire stack.

"You're welcome Prowl," with a jaunty wave, Windcharger left just as Wheeljack came in.

"Hey, Spike! Is this your new home on the Ark?" Wheeljack came over to them and checked the readouts on the machines connected to Jazz.

"No, not really." Spike replied.

"You've been spending a great deal of your time recently in here, so I did feel it was a valid question." 'Jack peered down at weld on Jazz's abdomen as he mentioned this. "Well, Prowl, he should be coming out of stasis any time. Looks like Ratchet finally got the secondary pump placed and working."

"It was a fried junction board that was causing them to fail." Prowl told him.

"Ah. That does make sense."

"Where's Ratchet?" Spike wanted to know.

"Taking a well-deserved rest. First Aid is more than capable of watching over the medbay, and Ratchet needs his rest."

"And so why are you here?" came the question.

"To check on Jazz on my way to get energon. Because if I don't, he'll get out of that berth and come in here to see for himself and then something else will require his attention and I will not get him back to the berth until another three cycles have passed."

Prowl was laughing quietly to himself. "True. You do know him well, Wheeljack."

"Hm. After all this time, I should." Wheeljack straightened, waved to First Aid, who returned the greeting, and exited the medbay.

"So, I guess I'm kind of stupid," Spike started, "but what does Jazz have that no one else does?"

Prowl sat back and thought, then said, "Well, Jazz balances me. He's free-spirited where I am regulated. He is fun in comparison to my seriousness. He breaks rules and I make them. He disregards protocol, whereas my existence seems confined by it. Those are surficial. We balance each other on deeper levels. He is light and laughter to my security and we each have a safe place within the other that exists nowhere else in the universe. Every time I feel him, he's home to me and I am home to him. I can be happy anywhere as long as he's happy. Does that make sense?"

"Yeah, I suppose it does. Sounds like the ultimate true mate thing that all the girls want." Spike grumbled a bit.

Prowl chuckled. "But the depth of communication that we have is not possible at your current level of evolution and is therefore not a logical desire."

"I suppose so." Spike became aware of a vibration in the table beneath him. At the same time, he watched as a look of pure joy crossed Prowl's face, and he thought that he would never again mistake Prowl's stoicism for a lack of feeling.

"Hello, Jazz," purred the tactician, setting his datapads aside and rising to lean his head against his mate's. Spike smiled to see the red chevron he was so familiar with upside down and framing the visor that he marked as Jazz's signature look.

"Hey, Prowl," came the husky growl as the visor lit up. Spike felt he was intruding upon a most personal moment and he was not alone in that assessment. He felt a nudge and looked up into the kindly optics of First Aid, offering his hand to Spike as an assist. Spike climbed on as quietly as possible, thanking First Aid once his feet were on the floor. He waved good-bye to the Protectobot, giving one last look to the black-and-white mechs that seemed an extension of each other.

End of Prayer 6 and of the story arc. Thank you for reading!


End file.
